The “Daily Show” opened Wednesday with coverage of Ned Lamonts victory over the man Jon Stewart referred to as Joe Loserman. After playing a clip of Liebermans concession speech where the senator said the game was only half over, and the Lamont team was just ahead, Stewart shot back, Perhaps I could, uh, offer my own, uh, sports comparison, if you will. There was a game, and you lost.
Matt Lauer tells the senator that many Dems think Lieberman is putting his own ambitions ahead of the good of the party. Lieberman’s response: Parties are the problem. But Lauer doesn’t let him off that easy….
“The Daily Show” host asked the NBC newsman, just back from Lebanon, whether anything there seemed manufactured for show. Williams’ story about Hezbollah rockets put that to rest. The two also sparred over CBS’ Katie Couric, who will soon be nipping at Williams’ heels.
Jon Stewart presided over a mock game show on Tuesday, during which he played highlights of Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice and Alberto Gonzales contradicting themselves and refusing to answer the simplest of questions.
Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said a civil war certainly is possible” and is the most significant threat right now in Iraq. He is the latest in a series of top generals to say so. (Earlier: Gen. Abizaid and Gen. Pace)
Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel chastised the Bush administration on “Face the Nation,” saying Iraq was headed toward civil war and neither the American people nor Congress would tolerate the continued presence of U.S. troops there.
On Fridays Democracy Now, the radio program’s host, Amy Goodman, spoke with Mideast expert and Truthdig contributor Juan Cole, whom she asked about the recent protests in Iraq over Israel’s incursion into Lebanon.
Check out this ultra-campy educational film from the 1960s about the rise of pornographic culture. Money quote: “We know that once a person is perverted, it is practically impossible for that person to adjust to normal attitudes in regards to sex.” (h/t: BoingBoing)
The ex-Senate candidate and Iraq War vet Paul Hackett asked Stephen Colbert, “Do you really think we’re going to spread democracy with the business end of an M-16?” Colbert’s response was classic. Check it out.
Jon Stewart had a roundup Thursday of a bizarre recent trend: Armageddon news coverage. Behold this montage of shame, in which every TV news outlet from Good Morning America to MSNBC seemed to make an appearance. CNN, in its quest for fact, checked something called a rapture index, while Fox News demanded a rapture timetable, prompting Stewart to comment, Thats the timetable Fox News is demanding we have.”
Hillary Clinton raked Donald Rumsfeld over the coals on Thursday over his “failed” prosecution of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. She closed with a knockout punch: “Given your track record, Secretary Rumsfeld, why should we believe your assurances now?” (video and transcript) Rumsfeld was left sputtering.
Testifying before Congress today, Donald Rumsfeld said he has never painted a rosy picture about Iraq, and that you would have a dickens of a time trying to find instances where I have been overly optimistic. (h/t: ThinkProgress)
That’s just nonsense. And we’ve got the proof—in the form of Rumsfeld’s own words (after the jump...)
Gen. John Abizaid, commander of the U.S. Central Command, told a congressional committee this morning that “the sectarian violence is probably as bad as Ive seen it in Baghdad in particular, and ... if not stopped, it is possible that Iraq could move toward civil war.”
After Tony Snow announced the results of Bushs recent physical, “The Daily Show host seized the opportunity to mock the presidents weight gain. But when Bush, in a speech, began talking about eating crabs with the 1972 Miami Dolphins, Stewart decided that the president had, finally, gone off the deep end.
During an interview with Vali Nasr on Tuesday, “The Daily Show” host grew frustrated with the increasing violence in the Middle East and offered his own plan for peace in the region.
Emboldened by Castros ailing health, Stephen Colbert has concocted a plan for the invasion of Cuba, featuring cruise liners filled with obese Americans and the ғregime-destroying power of the outlet mall. ԓMy proposal is controversial, but weve invaded for less,Ҕ the host said as he pitched his vision for a post-Castro world.
“Daily Show” correspondent Rob Courdry shines a biting satirical spotlight on the terrorist group Hamas’ summer camp in Gaza, where “Palestinian children gather in mosques for religious education and paramilitary training.” Apparently, for Gaza children with special needs, there’s also a religious education and paramilitary training fat camp.
Connecticut Senate challenger Ned Lamont told Stephen Colbert that he became a Democrat to fight Richard Nixon at age 18, and he’s still fighting a Democratic battle against Nixon’s heir in the White House today. Lamont: “I think George Bush is driving this country into a ditch, and if Joe Lieberman won’t challenge him, I will.”
Stephen Colbert, in his endlessly entertaining mission to interview every member of Congress, sat down with D.C. Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton on Thursday. While she might not have gotten the joke, the congresswoman demonstrated great patience as she and Colbert argued over whether Washington, D.C., is part of the United States.
Linguists beware; Stephen Colbert has invented a new word: “democrazy.” As the host explains, there was a time when I thought the key to Middle East peace was representative government, but then democracy gives us a prime minister who sides with Hezbollah, an Iranian president who wants to go nuclear, and a Palestinian government controlled by Hamas. So, now, Im thinking maybe we did the wrong thing.
Lewis Black was back on the Daily Show on Wednesday satirizing the debate over gay marriage. After playing a clip of Congressman Phil Gingrey, in which the lawmaker said, In my opinion, marriage isnt just any kind of love. Its a love that can bear children, Black quipped, Hey Congressman, take my word for it. A one-night stand with no love, a Quaalude and three beers can also bear children.
William Donohue, executive director of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, began his appearance on “The Colbert Report” on Tuesday by swiping at the host with a ruler. After Colbert confiscated the ruler, Donohue went on to hit a home run for tolerance by challenging the nativity of Native Americans and the motives of Hollywood Jews.